We’ve already checked all around the broken city walls. As soon as you step outside, you can feel the Yin Energy, but inside this ruined city, there’s no trace of it at all.
"Could this be the work of John Chou and Yuna Ji?"
Hugh Thompson suddenly spoke up. I remembered: it was true, Ghost Fiend Star had mentioned that back then, John Chou and Yuna Ji visited the Ghost Syndicate as honored guests. The Syndicate treated them like royalty, but in the end, John Chou and Yuna Ji joined forces and almost destroyed the Syndicate.
That’s the only explanation now. Hugh Thompson and I looked around. Here, every building was two stories, square, and extremely orderly. Only at the edge of the city stood a row of tall buildings rising above the rest.
Hugh Thompson and I kept walking. Sure enough, we saw plenty of weapons scattered along the street. Hugh casually picked one up—with a crack, it crumbled to dust.
"Looks like there was a massive battle here," Hugh said. I looked around. Many houses and walls seemed smashed through. Thinking of Yuna Ji’s army, it all became clearer—this really was the Ghost Syndicate’s old lair.
Hugh and I kept walking, witnessing the destruction left by battle. Most of the weapons had turned to dust; just a touch and they’d crumble to powder.
This place gave me a strange feeling—peace. When I first entered, I thought maybe it was because I didn’t have to worry about being attacked by Yin Energy. But it wasn’t that. It was as if now, I could sleep soundly anywhere here, without a care.
"Ethan, what’s wrong?" Hugh noticed something and immediately asked. I told him about this feeling.
Hugh rested his chin on his hand, studying me closely.
Hugh Thompson spoke as we continued walking toward the cluster of buildings rising at the edge of the ruined city.
After a long trek, Hugh and I came upon a wide, broken staircase, towering dozens of meters high. We climbed up, and at the top, a sprawling structure loomed before us—like some ancient palace, though much of it had collapsed. We moved closer, crossing the shattered ground, where a deep, bottomless gully split the earth.
This was the left front of the palace. The entire building had been sliced cleanly in two, though it hadn’t yet collapsed. I stepped forward and ran my hand along the half-meter-wide fissure. Suddenly, with a thunderous crash, the palace wall and the structures behind it began to collapse, sending up a choking cloud of dust. We scrambled backward, hearts pounding.
Only after the dust settled did we see it clearly—the palace sat before a mountain range as sharp as blades, the peaks stretching endlessly into the gloom.
"Let's go inside and take a look, Ethan," Hugh said.
But just then, Hugh's eyes flicked sharply behind us. I spun around, tense, scanning the darkness.
"What is it, Hugh?" I whispered.
"I heard something—a sound from the direction of the city gate," he murmured.
I gasped, though I hadn’t heard anything myself. Hugh casually picked up a stone and tossed it down the steps. The crisp echo rang out, strangely clear, and mingled with another faint reply from the shadows.
"I couldn’t make it out clearly, but it sounded like the drawbridge fell. I heard the crash of wood against stone. We should hide, Ethan."